April 2017 Spotlight Airman

  • Published
  • By 175th Wing Public Affairs
Baltimore --  
Name: David Welsh
Rank: Airman 1st Class
Unit: 135th Intelligence Squadron
Job Description (no codes): Fusion Analyst
Fulltime job: Student
Hometown: Finksburg, MD
Joined the MDANG: April 27, 2015
Total Service years: Almost 2
Family: Mother, Father and older brother
Favorite Movie: Enemy at the Gates
Favorite food: Ice cream
Favorite Sports Team: Ravens



Tell us your brief life story?

I was born in Baltimore but I grew up on a small farm in Finksburg, Maryland. As a child, I participated in a program called 4-H that teaches kids life skills. My older brother was a boy scout and I went on a lot of camping, hiking, scuba diving and other trips with him. After high school, I attended York College of Pennsylvania. Eventually I transferred to the University of South Florida where I earned my degree. I will finish my masters at the University of Maryland Baltimore County this spring and in the fall begin earning a doctorate in Information Systems.

Tell us about your military career?

I enlisted in the Maryland Air National Guard during the Baltimore riots and left for basic military training in September 2015. I had a five-month break in training before going to San Angelo, Texas for technical training. Graduation from technical training was in October 2016. Since then, I have been performing on the job training and recently have started working on the first official tasking for the 135th IS.

What brought you to the MDANG? How have you enjoyed your time here?

While working on my masters at UMBC I began looking for jobs to gain experience and looked into the MDANG. I saw they had both cyber and intelligence positions. I was interested in applying what I learned in school to a career field in this area. After meeting with the 135th IS, I was offered a fusion analyst position. I have enjoyed my time in the MDANG both at technical school and on base being able to provide different viewpoints and processes to our work.

What is your favorite Air Force or military memory or story?

During the last week of basic training, Airman’s Week, I and another member of the 135th IS were allowed to attend an air show at Joint Base San Antonio Randolph.

What is your proudest moment?

The professor I had last year encouraged me to take a class project I started and refine it so we could submit it to a research conference. This was the first time I submitted anything. The IEEE Pervasive Computing conference workshop on Context and Activity Modeling and Recognition accepted my project and I presented it in Kona, Hawaii on March 13, 2017.

What are you passionate about?

Right now, I am most passionate/focused on my research. Since I will be transitioning to the doctorate program in this career field, I thought it would be a fun way to incorporate my hobby into school projects. I have found other professors and researchers interested in the topic as well.